1

Overview

Professor

Faculty of Law,

Department of Private Law

University of Cape Town (UCT)

PERSONAL DETAILS

Date of birth: 15 November 1952

Age: 64

Nationality Zambian

Residence: South African permanent resident

Disability: None

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

1985 PhD (London School of Economics and Political Science, University of

London)

Title: “Family Property disputes: The predicament of women and children in a

Zambian urban community”

1978 LL.M (King's College, University of London)

!976 LLB (School of Law, University of Zambia)

CURRICULUM

VITAE:

CHUMA

HIMONGA

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EMPLOYMENT

1. Current positions:

Full Professor (2002)

Holder of the DST (SARChI) Chair in Customary, Law, Indigenous Values

and Human Rights (UCT), which is funded and managed by the National

Research Foundation (NRF).

Warden of All Africa House (a residence for short-term national and

international academic visitors to UCT, and established to act as a link

between UCT and other academic institution in Africa) (appointed 2005)

2. Previous

Location Employer Position

2007 Rondebosch,

Cape Town

University of Cape

Town, Faculty of

Law

Deputy Dean,

Postgraduate studies

2003-2005 Rondebosch,

Cape Town

University of Cape

Town, Faculty of

Law

Deputy Dean

1999 Rondebosch,

Cape Town

University of Cape

Town, Faculty of

Law

Associate Professor

1988-1994 Bayreuth,

Germany

University of

Bayreuth

Akademische Ratin

Auf Zeit

1986-1987 Lusaka, Zambia University of

Zambia, School of

Law

Assistant Dean

1978-1988

(study leave

1981-1985)

Lusaka, Zambia University of

Zambia, School of

Law

Lecturer

1976-1978 Lusaka, Zambia University of

Zambia,

School of Law

Staff Development

Fellow

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Research interests: Law of Persons and Marriage, African Customary Law,

Comparative African Family Law, Legal Pluralism, Women’s and Children’s Rights

under Customary Law in Southern Africa and Human Rights as they relate to family

law.

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RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

1. Rating and the Chair

NRF-Rated Researcher, established national and international researcher

DST Chair in Customary Law, Indigenous Values and Human Rights (Chair)

was awarded to me in 2010 to replace an existing Chair: This Chair was

established under the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) by

the South African Department of Science and Technology. The purposes of a

SARChI Chair are to: ‘advance the frontiers of knowledge through focused

research in identified fields or problem areas; stimulate and coordinate the

work of other researchers active in identified fields or problem areas;

teach/supervise postgraduate level students and postdoctoral researchers

whose learning should be embedded in the field of the research focus; provide

a critical locus for the development of excellence in ideas and capacity; and

promote gender and racial equity in the scientific community.’ The research of

the Chair focuses on the actual workings of customary law as a normative

system in a legally and culturally pluralistic field, and on how customary law

interacts with other components of the legal system, including common law

and human rights law. Following a successful evaluation and review by

discipline-specific experts selected from both the national and international

research community in 2014, the NRF approved continuation of the Chair for

another five-year funding cycle, to 2019. An identified strength of the Chair in

the review was its socio-legal interdisciplinary nature.

2. Research Conducted and Research Collaboration

I have conducted research, and collaborated in research projects as follows:

The Chair research on the “Formation of and Patterns of Customary Marriages

in Zambia: A Socio-Legal Study” (on-going).

The Chair research on “Dissolution of customary marriage in the South

African legal pluralism Context” (on-going).

The Chair research on the “Operation of Recognition of Customary Marriages

Act and the Bhe Rules of Succession” (UCT, 2012 -2015).

I have collaborated in research with scholars at both international and national

levels and with academic and non-academic (community-based) partners as

follows:

University of Ottawa Research Chair on Legal Diversity and Indigenous

Peoples: This international collaboration partnership conducts research on The

State and Indigenous legal cultures: law in search of legitimacy. The

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partnership, led by the above Chair, is with several Universities, and

traditional leaders in the collaborating countries. It conducts research on the

co-existence of aboriginal/indigenous and non- aboriginal/indigenous legal

cultures. The project also involves collaboration with the National House of

Traditional Leaders which should conduct research on aspects of customary

law with the support of the Chair. I am the principal investigator in the

Southern Africa sub-project of the partnership under which two case studies

have been investigated: “Formation of and Patterns of Customary Marriages

in Zambia: A Socio-Legal Study” and “Dissolution of customary marriage in

the South African legal pluralism Context”.

School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town:

I collaborated in an interdisciplinary research project under the auspices of the

Programme for Enhancement of Research Capacity (PERC): African Research

Project on Knowledge Production. This project, located at the University of

Cape Town, was aimed at promoting research capacity by bringing together

academics at a range of career stages from several disciplines. The

collaboration was between researchers at the Universities of the Western

Cape, Warwick, Maastricht and 6 civil society organisations in the Western

Cape under the umbrella of the Learning Network (LN). The partners in the

LN collaborate to develop best practice for realising the right to health. The

PERC component of the LN was structured to extend existing research to

produce new perspectives on the right to health drawing on ideas rooted in

African philosophies, including Ubuntu other than the ‘hegemonic’ ideas

arising from Western theorists.

National Movement of Rural Women (South Africa): This research

collaboration involved members of a community-based organisation in the

collection of data in rural areas of five provinces of South Africa for the

empirical research project of the Chair in on customary marriage and

succession from 2012 to 2015

FORAREA (Bavarian research network for area-studies). The research for

this project was conducted between 1995 and 2002. It was conducted under an

agreement between the Network and the (then) Bavarian State Ministry for

Science, Research, Education and the Arts and defined under the rubric

“interdisciplinary and interuniversity research on regions outside Europe”

Southern and Eastern Africa Research Centre in Women’s Law

(University of Zimbabwe) Mid-Term Review of Oxfam America Gender and

Law Programmes, Harare, 2003.

University of Bayreuth, Germany: Research on Zambian family law and

succession within the Sonderforsschungsbereich 214 Identitat in Africa (1988-

1994).

University of Zimbabwe, Children and Law in Eastern and Southern

Africa (CLESA) (1996, Harare, Zimbabwe).

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University of Zimbabwe: Women and Law in Southern Africa Research

Trust (WLSA) (1988-1993 as active researcher and associate researcher)

RESEARCH AWARDS, RECOGNITION AND GRANTS

1. Awards and Recognition

2016 Alan Pifer Research Award, the Vice-Chancellor’s Award, made

annually in recognition of outstanding research that demonstrates relevance to

the advancement and welfare of South Africa’s disadvantaged people.

UCT Vice-Chancellor’s Exceeds Award in recognition of exceptional

performance during the 2015/2016 annual performance cycle.

Dean of Law Faculty conference to celebrate indigenous customary law at

UCT and the research of Professors Chuma Himonga and Tom Bennett,

Kramer law building, Middle Campus, 13 March 2017.

2. Research and Travel Grants and Scholarships

2016 University Research Committee grant to host a

Conference on the recording of customary law in South Africa

and Canada.

2016 URC international travel conference grant (Association African

Studies Conference, USA).

2013 URC research grant.

2011 URC grant for hosting the conference on the living realities of

legal pluralism.

2010 Faculty Research Committee (FRC) research Grant.

2009 FRC research grant.

2008 URC Sabbatical leave travel grant.

2006 URC research grant

2005 2002 URC research grant.

2001 University of Bayreuth, travel grant for visiting professorship.

2001 Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the

Witwatersrand to attend a workshop in Johannesburg.

2000 University of Bayreuth, travel grant for visiting professorship.

2000 Interights London travel grant to attend a workshop in Blantyre,

Malawi.

2000 Interights London travel grant to attend a workshop in Zambia.

2000 URC research grant.

1999 Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project (WLSA).

Travel grant to attend a workshop in Swaziland.

1999 URC research grant.

1998 WLSA travel grant to attend a workshop in Gaborone.

1998 Children and Law in Eastern and Southern Africa.(CLESA)

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grant to attend a workshop in Harare

1997 CLESA travel grant to attend a workshop in Harare

1997 University of Bayreuth travel grant to attend a conference in

Bayreuth, Germany

1997 University of Indiana travel grant to present the Hans Wolff

Memorial Lecture and attend a workshop in Indiana

1997 University of Witwatersrand Gender Research Project travel

Grant to attend a workshop in Johannesburg

1997 Commission for Gender Equality travel grant to attend a

Workshop in Johannesburg.

1997 URC research grant.

1981 The Commonwealth Scholarship for PhD research.

3. Other Significant Scholarly Engagements

Appointed to the NRF Rating Specialist Committee for Law for four years

(from April 2017).

I Presented a lecture in the NRF series ‘Exploring Marriage in the 21st

Century: Law, Marriage and Lobola’ (2014). As part of the commitment to

increase public engagement with science, the NRF collaborates with

universities and SAfm radio station (with a listenership of over 500 000) to

host its series for Society and Science lectures. The main aim of these

lectures is to showcase the work the SARChi Chairs are doing to address

the challenges that face South Africa today.

I was a member of the Board of the International Association of Law

School (2005 to 2010).

As Warden of All Africa House:

o I convened a considerable number of public seminars open to the

university community and the general public. I hosted some of

these seminars in collaboration with student organisations at UCT.

The seminars were aimed at cultivating a culture of debate among

students, staff and the public on issues of importance to the African

continent, as well as developing student leadership and social

skills.

o I convened postgraduate seminars open to all postgraduate students

at UCT. The objectives of the seminars were: to promote and

enhance writing and communication skills in postgraduate research

through expert facilitated seminars/workshops, as well as sharing

of research experiences from interdisciplinary academic fields; to

provide a forum for social interaction, networking and moral

support among postgraduate students; and to create a platform for

sharing research knowledge among the students.

o Since 2010, I have convened and coordinated the All Africa House

Academic Fellowship Programme for young to mid-career

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academics from African Universities outside of South Africa. The

Fellows come to UCT to write up completed research for

publication, or to develop course materials for teaching in their

home institutions. The Fellows are hosted by UCT senior

academics across the University’s Faculties.

I was a member of the International Working Group of legal educators that

established the International Association of Law Schools (2004-2005).

I chaired the seven-member international committee to plan the

International Association of Law Schools Educational Conference on

‘Effective Techniques for Teaching about other Cultures and Legal

Systems’ held in Montreal, Canada, 30 May 2008.

Visiting scholar to Queen's University Faculty of Law for two weeks to

engage with researchers at Queen's and to teach a 1-credit 12 hour course

(2008).

Member of the South African Law Reform Commission Project

Committee on African Customary Law (2003-2006).

Co-founder of the Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project

(WLSA) covering Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia,

and Zimbabwe in 1988, and I remained a Research Associate of the

Project until 1993.

I held guest lectureships at the University of Bayreuth in 1997, 2000, 2001

and 2006.

I lectured as a visiting lecturer in the LLM programme on Human Rights

and Democratisation in Africa at the University of Pretoria (2005, 2006).

Since 2004, I have served on the Southern and Eastern African Board,

which oversees SEARCWL’s Masters Programme.

I served on the Conference Advisory Group for the Association of

American Law Schools (2004)

Attended the HERS, Mid-America Summer Institute for Women in Higher

Education Administration, Bryn Mawr College, USA (2002).

I co-facilitated the workshop on the ‘Role of Lower Courts in the

Enforcement of Human Rights and Administration of Justice in the Lower

Courts in Malawi and Zambia (Blantyre 28 March - 2 April 2000)

I co-facilitated the workshop on the ‘Role of Lower Courts in the

Enforcement of Human Rights and Administration of Justice in Malawi

and Zambia (Lusaka, 19-24 June 2000).

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I participated in the Focus Group Discussion of the South African Law

Commission/Department of Welfare and Population Development Project

110 to review the Child Care Act (Bantry Bay, 27 June 2000).

I was a member of the Zambia Association for Research and Development

(1988-2000)

I co-facilitated the commencement and methodological workshops of two

WLSA research projects: ‘Gender Violence and the Administration of

Justice’ (May 1999) and ‘Women and the Administration of Justice

Delivery: Problems and Constraints (1998)

I presented the Hans Wolff Memorial lecture at the University of Indiana,

Bloomington (1997).

I am a member of the scientific and editorial board of the Journal of

Comparative Law in Africa.

I have reviewed/assessed several applications for the NRF for rating

scholars as researchers.

I have peer-reviewed potential publications for a number of international

and national journals, including the South African Journal of Human

Rights; South African Law Journal; Stellenbosch Law Review; Journal of

Juridical Sciences; Journal of Legal Pluralism, Canadian Journal of

African Studies; Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal and the Malawi

Law Journal.

PUBLICATIONS

1. Books/Manuals

2016 Family and Succession Law (Zambia), Supplement 81,

International Encyclopaedia of Laws Kluwer Law International, pp. 266

2015 (with E Moore) Reform of Customary Marriage, Divorce and

Succession Living Customary Law and Social Realities, Juta & Co. (Pty)

Ltd pp. 374.

2014 (with T Nhlapo (eds), African Customary Law in South

Africa Post-Apartheid and Living Law Perspectives, Oxford University

Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd.

2011 Family and Succession Law (Zambia), revised, International

Encyclopaedia of Laws, Family Law and Succession Law, Wolters Kluwer

Law Business pp. 234.

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2008 Family and Succession Law (Zambia), revised, 2002

International Encyclopaedia of Laws, Family Law and Succession Law

Kluwer Law International suppl, pp214.

1995 Family and Succession Law in Zambia: Developments Since

Independence,, Munster, Lit. Verlag, pp. 335.

2. Chapters in Books

2014 ‘The Nature and Concept of Customary Law’ in C Himonga and T

Nhlapo (eds), African Customary Law in South Africa Post-Apartheid and

Living Law Perspectives Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd,

23-39.

‘Consequences of Marriage’ in C Himonga and T Nhlapo, African Customary

Law in South Africa Post-Apartheid and Living Law Perspectives (2014),

Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd, 23-39.

2014 ‘Dissolution of a Customary Marriage by Divorce in J Heaton (ed) The

Law of Divorce and Dissolution of Life Partnerships in South Africa’ (, Juta &

Co. Ltd, 231-278.

2014 (with G Hagg ‘Twenty Years of Reconciling Traditional Governance

with Modern Democracy’ in Meyiwa, T, Nkondo, M, Chitiga-Mabugu, M,

Sithole, M, Francis Nyamnjoh, State of the Nation 2014.South Africa 1994-

2014: A Twenty-Year Review, HSRC Press, 106-126.

2013 (with A Pope), Mayelane v Ngwenyama and Minister for Home

Affairs: A Refection on Wider Implications, in A Claassens & D Smythe

(eds), Marriage, Land and Custom, Juta & Co. Ltd, 318-338.

2012 ‘Constitutional Rights of Women under Customary Law in Southern

Africa: Dominant Interventions and "Old Pathways"’ in B Baines et al

(eds) Feminist Constitutionalism Global perspectives, Cambridge University

press 317-335.

2012 ‘Taking the Gap – “Living Law Land Grabbing” in the Context of

Customary Succession Laws in Southern Africa’ in H Mostert and T Bennett

(ed) Pluralism and Development Studies in Access to Property in Africa ACTA

Juridica 114-139.

2012 Exploring the Concept of Ubuntu in the South African Legal System’

in U Kischel et al Ideologie und Weltschauung im Recht Mohr Siebeck 1- 22

(peer reviewed conference proceedings).

2011 ‘The Future of Living Customary Law in African Legal Systems in the

Twenty-First Century and Beyond with Special Reference to South Africa’ in

J Fenrich et al (ed) The Future of African Customary Law Cambridge

University Press 31-57.

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2011 (with J Stewart) ‘Teaching Women, Social Realities, Family and the

Law’ in African Legal Systems’ in A Tsanga/J Stewart Women and Law:

Innovative Approaches to Teaching, Research and Analysis Weaver Press

223-257.

2010 ‘The Response of State Law to Religious, Linguistic, Cultural and

Ethnic Diversity in Zambia’ in Marie-Claire Foblets et al (eds) Cultural

Diversity and the Law: State Responses from Around the World, Conference

Proceedings (), Bruylant 306-331.

2008 ‘African Customary Law and Children’s Rights: Intersections and

Domains in a New Era’ in Julia Sloth-Nielsen (ed) Children’s Rights in Africa

A Legal Perspective, Ashgate Publishing Company Limited 73-91.

2007 Revision of Wille's Principles of South African Law (2007), Francois

Dubois (ed) Juta & CO, 145-386:

o Chapter 8 Birth, name, domicile and death;

o Chapter 9 - Unborn persons

o Chapter 10 - Females

o Chapter 11 - Children (minors)

o Chapter 12 - Extra-marital children

o Chapter 13 – Marriage

o Chapter 14 - (with Dubois) Life partnerships

o Chapter 15 - Mentally incapacitated persons.

2006 Taking Stock of Changes to Customary Law in a New South Africa’

in Essays in Honour of AJ Kerr, Butterworths Lexis Nexis, 215-235.

2006 (with R Manjoo), ‘What’s in a Name? The Identity and Reform of

Customary Law in South Africa’s Constitutional Dispensation’ in MO Hinz,

(ed), The Shade of New Leaves: Governance in African Tradition a Southern

Africa Perspective Muster Lit 329-350.

2003 (with H Sippel, U Spellenberg & U Wanitzek) ‘The legal Dimension of

Conflicts between Cultural Rights and Economic Actions in South Africa and

Namibia’ in H Kopp (ed) Area Studies, Business and Culture: Results of the

Bavarian Research Network Forarea LIT Verlag Munster 282-290.

2000 'Law and Gender in Southern Africa: Human Rights and Family Law'

in Y Bradshaw & S Ndegwa (eds) The Uncertain Promise of Southern Africa,

University Press, 275-300.

1998 `The Right of the Child to Participate in Decision-Making: A

Perspective from Zambia', W Ncube (ed) Law, Culture Tradition and

Children's Rights in Eastern and Southern Africa, Ashgate Dartmouth, 95-

128.

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1997 'Law and Culture in South Africa: Towards an Understanding of a

Pluralistic Legal system', R Blanpain (ed), Law in Motion (1), The Hague,

Kluwer International (Conference proceedings), 75-98.

1997 (with U Spellenberg & K. Adjamagbo-Johnson) ‘Recent Developments

in Succession Law' in R Blanpain (ed.) Law in Motion, Kluwer Law

International (Conference proceedings), 711-749.

1995 'Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project: Bridging the

Divide between Scholarship and Action', in R Mechthild & G Ludwar-Ene

(eds.), Gender and Identity in Africa, Hamburg, Lit Verlag, 197-214.

1993 'Protection of Widows and Administration of Customary Estates in

Zambian Courts', in G Ludwar-Ene & R Mechthild (eds), Gros-Plan sur les

Femmes en Afrique/Afrikanische Frauen im Blick/Focus on Women in Africa),

University of Bayreuth African Studies Series, 159-195.

1990 'Integration of Family Law in Zambia: Marriage and Succession Law'

in J Abun-Nasr/U Spellenberg/U Wanitzek (eds) Law, Society and National

Identity in Africa, Hamburg, Helmut Buske Verlag, 163-182.

1990 International 'Kidnapping' of Children and Determination of Custody:

An African Perspective' 9th Commonwealth Law Conference, Conference

Papers, Commerce Clearing House, New Zealand Ltd., 291-300.

1990 (with K Turner & C Beyani) 'An Outline of the Legal Status of Women

in Zambia' in J Stewart & A Armstrong (eds), The Legal Situation of Women

in Southern Africa, University of Zimbabwe Publications, 139-164.

1989 (with B Kamuwanga) 'Legal Scholarship in Zambia' in M Guadagni

(ed.), Legal Scholarship in Africa, Università degli studi di Trento, 175-201.

1989 (with C Beyani) 'Access to Legal Education and the Legal Profession

in Zambia' in N Kibble/R Dhavan/W L Twining (eds), Access to Legal

Education and the Legal Profession London, Butterworths, 234-244.

1987 'Property Disputes in Law and Practice: Dissolution of Marriage in

Zambia' in A Armstrong (ed) Women and Law in Southern Africa, Harare,

Zimbabwe Publishing House, 56-84.

3. Articles

2016 (with K Button& E Moore) ‘South Africa’s System of Dispute

Resolution Forums: The Role of the Family and the State in Customary

Marriage Dissolution’ Journal of Southern African Studies 42(2) 299-316).

2014 (with L London et al) ‘Social Solidarity and the Right to Health:

Essential Elements for People-Centred Health Systems’ Health Policy and

Planning, vol 30, issue 7, 938-945.

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2014 (with M Stuttaford et al) ‘The Right to Traditional, Complementary,

and Alternative Health’ Care Global Health Action, 1-

8, http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/view/24121.

2013 (with A Pope & M Taylor) ‘Reflections on Judicial views on

uBuntu’ Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal - PELJ 2013(16)

(5) http://www.nwu.ac.za/p-per/2013(16)5.

2013 ‘Right to Health in an African Cultural Context: the Role of Ubuntu in

the Realisation of the Right to Health with Special Reference to South Africa’

(2013) Journal of African Law 57-2, 165-195.

2013 (with A Pope) ‘Mayelane v Nwenyama and Minister for Home Affairs:

A Reflection on Wider Implications’ (2013) ACTA Juridica 318-338.

2011 ‘Taking the Gap - 'Living Law Land Grabbing' in the Context of

Customary Succession Laws in Southern Africa’ (2011) ACTA Juridica 114-

139.

2010 ‘State and Individual Perspectives of a Mixed Legal System in

Southern African Contexts with Special Reference to Personal Law’

(2010) Tulane European and Civil Law Forum vol. 25, 23-36.

2010 ‘Goals and Objectives of Law Schools in their Primary Role of

Educating Students: South Africa – The University of Cape Town School of

Law Experience’ (2010) Penn State International Law Review vol 29, number

1, 41-59.

2009 Review article, Women and Custom in Namibia: Cultural Practice

Versus Gender Equality? OC Ruppel (ed), Macmillan education, Windhoek,

2008, pp. 228 in Namibia Law Journal Vol 1 Issue 1 January (2009), 123-127.

2009 (with Rashida Manjoo) ‘The Challenges of Formalisation, Regulation

and Reform of Traditional Courts in South Africa’ (2009) Malawi Law

Journal, 3, 2, 157-181.

2008 ‘Zambia, Breaking the Tie, Enduring Fragmentation, and Reform

Beyond 2007: the Matrimonial Causes Law’ (2008) International Survey of

Family Law 497-523.

2007 (with Anita Cook) ‘A Child’s Autonomy with Special Reference to

Reproductive Medical Decision-Making in South African Law: Mere Illusion

or Real Autonomy?’ (2007) 15 The International Journal of Children’s

Rights 323-363.

2005 ‘African Customary law in South Africa – Many Faces of Bhe v

Magistrate Khayelitsha’ (2005) Recht in Afrika 163-183.

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2005 ‘The Advancement of African Women’s Rights in the First Decade of

Democracy in South Africa: the Reform of the Customary Law of Marriage

and Succession’ (2005) Acta Juridica 82-107.

2003 'Transforming the Family Law Landscape: The Role of the Courts

(South Africa) (2003) International Survey of Family Law, 421-437.

2003 'Inheritance Conflicts over the Matrimonial Home: Safeguarding the

Family against Homelessness (Zambia)' (2003) The International Survey of

Family Law 461-469.

2002 'Implementing the Rights of the Child in African Legal Systems: The

Mthembu Journey in Search of Justice' (2002) International Journal of

Children's Rights 9, 89-122.

(2001 ‘Zambia: Protecting the Minor Child's Inheritance Rights' (2001)

The International Survey of Family Law 457-473.

2000 (with C Bosch) ‘The Application of Customary Law under the

Constitution of South Africa: Problems Solved or Just Beginning?’

(2000) SALJ Vol. 117 306-341.

1998 'A Legal System in Transition, Cultural Diversity and National Identity

in Post-Apartheid South Africa' (1998) Recht in Africa Law in Africa

(Geselleschaft fur Afrikanisches Recht), heft 1, 1-23.

1995 (with Armstrong et al) ‘Towards a Cultural Understanding of the

Interplay between Children's and Women's Rights: An Eastern and Southern

African Perspective’ (1995) no 3, 334-368.

1994 ‘The Dual Family Law System in Zambia: Co-Existence and

Operation' (1994), Law and Anthropology (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers), 7,

239-260.

1993 (with Armstrong et al) 'Uncovering Reality: Excavating Women's

Rights in African Family Law' (1993), International Journal of Law, Policy

and the Family, vol. 7, 3, 271-368.

1991 ‘The Integration of the Laws of Succession in Zambia'

(1991) Verfassung Recht in Übersee (4), 337-61.

1991 '(with M Munachoonga) Rural Women's Access to Agricultural Land

in Settlement Schemes in Zambia: Law, Practice and Socio-economic

Constraints’ (1991) (Third World Legal Studies, 59-74.

1990 'The Legal Position of Women in Zambia: Research Methodologies

and Application' Perspectives on Research Methodology (1990)) Working

Paper No. 2, Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project, Harare,

24-39.

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1989 ‘The Law of Succession and Inheritance in Zambia and the Proposed

Reform' (1989) International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, vol. 3, 2,

160-176.

1988 'A Reflection on the Validity of the Common Law Marriage in

Zambia', Zambia Law Journal (1988) vol. 20, 1-10.

1979 'Some Aspects of the Zambian Marriage Act' (1979) Zambia Law

Journal (University of Zambia), vol. 2, 23-44.

1978 (with M. Ndulo) ‘The People v. Chasonke’ Zambia Law Journal, 1978,

vol. 10, 90.

RESEARCH AND COMMISSIONED REPORTS AND ELECTRONIC

COMMENTS

2015 (With E Moore) Reform of Customary Marriage, Divorce and

Succession in South Africa: Living Customary Law and Social Realities,

Report (2015), Juta and Co Ltd. http://jutaacademic.co.za/uploads/SAR/

2013 “Why the Constitutional Court’s recent Mayelane judgment punishes

the wrong people n Tsonga customary marriages” www.customcontested.co.za

2003 (with J E Stewart) Mid-Term Review of Oxfam America Gender and

Law Programmes, Report 2003 pp 84, SEARCWL, Harare,

TEACHING, POSTGRADUATE SUPERVISION, EXTERNAL

EXAMINATIONS, STUDENT MENTORING

1. Undergraduate Teaching (UCT)

Until 2010 when I was awarded the Chair in Customary Law, I taught the courses on

the Law of Persons and Marriage (preliminary level of the LLB) and African

Customary Law (final level of the LLB).

2. Postgraduate Teaching (Supervision) (UCT)

LLM minor dissertations:

o Patricia Nyaundi

o Sonya Cotton

o Chisomo Mosekera)

MPhil thesis by dissertation only: (Louise Ehlers) (co-supervision)

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LLM by dissertation only:

o Reon Cloete

o Sandra Kayereka

o Kagiso Maphalle (co-supervision)

PhD:

o Rebecca Badejogbin

o Zama Chauke (co-supervision)

o Brian Dennison

o Anthony Diala

o Fatima Osman

o Ghada Shawgi (co-supervision)

o Rhianon Thomas (Abandoned) (co-supervision)

3. External Examination

LL.B University of Swaziland (2007-2008)

University of the Western Cape (Advanced Family Law) (2005)

University of Stellenbosch (LL.M thesis) (2003)

LLB Rhodes University (Law of Persons) (2002-2003)

LLB Rhodes University (Law of Husband and Wife) (2002-2003)

LLB University of the Western Cape (Law of Persons) (2002-2007)

LLM research report University of the Witwatersrand (2000)

LLB University of the Western Cape (African Customary Law) (1998)

University of Zambia School of Law (2010-2012)

4. Non-degree teaching

2007 Teaching African Customary Law to Candidate Attorneys (CA)

at Edward Nathan and Sonneberg Attorneys, Cape Town (I scored the

highest rating by CA’s for excellent teaching).

2009 Teaching African Customary Law to Candidate Atornerys (CA)

at Edward Nathan and Sonneberg Attorneys, Cape Town.

2010 Teaching African Customary Law to Candidate Attorneys (CA)

at Edward Nathan and Sonneberg Attorneys, Cape Town.

2011 Teaching African Customary Law to Candidate Attorneys (CA)

at Edward Nathan and Sonneberg Attorneys, Cape Town.

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2012 Teaching African Customary Law to Candidate Attorneys (CA)

at Edward Nathan and Sonneberg Attorneys, Cape Town.

2015) Teaching African Customary Law to Candidate Attorneys (CA)

at Edward Nathan and Sonneberg Attorneys, Cape Town (I scored the

highest rating by CA’s for excellent teaching.

2003-2006 I lectured in the Women’s Law Master Programme at the

Southern and Eastern African Regional Centre for Women’s Law

(SEARCWL), University of Zimbabwe.

1998-2005 I presented annual lectures on various legal subjects to nursing

students in the Department of Nursing, UCT.

5. Mentorship

I have mentored young scholars (at the time) into writing and publishing

through taking the initiative and the lead in joint authorship of publications in

my fields of research (i.e. articles with C Bosch, A Cook, and M Taylor).

INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL CONFERENCES, AND

WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS ORGANISED (* = PRESENTED PAPER)

2014 (with International Academic Programme Office (UCT) and Southern

Africa Development Community Conference on the Interplay of Customary

Law Rights in Land and Legal Pluralism, University of Cape Town, 17

October 2014.

2014 Seminar on Children: Rights and Research Ethics, by Michael Freeman

and Anne Pope, 16 October 2014, University of Cape Town.

o Freeman: Culture, Childhood and Human Rights

o Pope: Child Participants, with special reference to section 71 of the

National Health Act 61/2003

2012 (with the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at UCT)

International Seminar, 16 October 2012, UCT.

2012 Select Parliamentary Committee on Security and Constitutional

Development Constitutional Development Workshop on Dialogue on the

Traditional Courts Bill (30 May 2012, Cape Town).*

2012 (with R Manjoo) The UN Rapporteur on Violence Against Women 3rd

African Consultation (20-22 January 2012, Lusaka).*

2011 International Workshop on Research in Customary Law (11 September

2011, UCT.

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2011 (with the Jubilee Congress of the Commission on Legal Pluralism, the

Centre for Legal and Applied Research (CLEAR), and the Chair for

Comparative Law in Africa) Living Realities of Legal Pluralism Conference

(8 – 10 September 2011).

INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA AND

WORKSHOPS ATTENDED (* = PRESENTED A PAPER)

I have attended and presented papers at numerous international and national

conferences, including the following:

2016 Law and Society in Africa Conference on Dynamism, Liminality, and

Reality? Policy, Research and the Law in an Afropolitan Era. Cape Town (9-

11 December 2016).

2016 The Africa Studies Association 59th

Annual Meeting “Imagining

Africa at the Centre: Bridging Scholarship, Policy and Representation in

African Studies”, Washington DC, (1-3 December 2016) (chaired a panel).

2015 HERS-SA Academy Conference Woodstock, Cape Town (6-11

September 2015).*

2014 XVth ISFL World Conference, Recife, Brazil, (August 6-9, 2014).*

2013 Ubuntu Project colloquium 25 July 2013, University of Pretoria.*

2013 Onati International Institute for Sociology of Law Workshop on

Wealth, Families and Death: Socio-legal Perspectives on Wills and Inheritance

(25-26 April 2013, Gipuzkoa, Spain).*

2013 The Right to Health and Integrated Care: Patient and Provider

Perspectives Seminar (7 March 2013, University of Cape Town).

2012 Ubuntu Workshop on the “Authority and the Living Customary Law (2

August 2012, Pretoria University).*

2012 SEARCWL Colloquium on “Teaching Women’s Law” (23-27 July

2012, Livingstone, Zambia).*

2012 UCT Research Office Programme for the enhancement of Research

Capacity on doing Research in Africa: Africa-Centred Research seminar (13

June 2012, UCT).*

2012 The Chair for Comparative Law in Africa Methodology Workshop

(22-24 October 2012, UCT).*

2012 The Law Race & Gender Research Unit seminar on “Do Constitutions

Matter? Gender Provisions and Women's Equality in Comparative

Perspective” (20 July 2012).

2012 International Workshop on Revisiting Communal Land Tenure:

Perspectives on Households, Families, and Work from Below (4-5 May 2012,

Berlin).*

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2012 The Law Race & Gender Research Unit & Centre for African Studies

seminar on “The Land Question in Sub-Saharan Africa: Longer Term

Processes and the Recent "land rush" (23 April 2012, UCT)

The Law Race & Gender Research Unit seminar on “Informal Land Rights

under Siege 18 Years into Democracy” seminar by S Manona (30 March

2012, UCT).

2011 First International Colloquium on Transnational Linguistic

Repertoires: Communication in Courts and Public Agencies, University of

Vienna (2-4 Nov 2011, Vienna).*

2011 Ergibnisse der 33. Tagung der Gesellschat fur Rechsvergleichung

(Colloquium) (15-17 September, 2011 Tier, Germany).*

2011 Ubuntu Project workshop on “Indigenous Values and African Thought

in the Post Colony” (Aug 2011 University of Pretoria).*

2011 The Human Science Research Council Seminar on Reconciling

Africa’s Fragmented Institutions of Governance: A New Approach to

Institution Building, a research project by the Pennsylvania State University

(USA) and the Human Sciences Research Council (South Africa) in South

Africa, Somaliland, Kenya and Ethiopia (3 August 2011, Pretoria).*

2011 Programme for Enhancement of Research Capacity on the right to

health from an African Perspective Research project (25 September 2011,

UCT).

2011 The Huma World Organisation of Universities meeting on “Uses and

Abuses of Culture” (21-23 July 2011, UCT).*

2011 Colloquium on Internationalisation of the Curriculum a Teaching

Laboratory (5-6 May 2011, UCT).

2011 The Law Race & Gender Research Unit seminar on “The Rights of

Women under Customary Law in Southern Africa: Reflecting on the Work of

the Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) Research” (2011, UCT).*

2011 Programme for Enhancement of Research Capacity seminar on

literature review on the right to health from an African perspective research

project (19 March 2011, UCT).

2010 Colloquium on Development, Pluralism and Access to Resources,

Land Law Watch Research Group (25-27 November 2010, Cape Town).*

Humboldt Kolleg Interdisciplinary Conference on Ubuntu, Humanity and

Good Faith/Equity as Flexible Principles in Law and Society in Southern

Africa – Appropriate Principles in an Ever-Changing World? North West

University, Potchefstroom Campus, 1-3 September 2010.*(Discussant in

plenary session).

2010 The Future of the Ubuntu Project, Preliminary Programme Workshop

(19-20 August 2010, University of Pretoria).

2009 International Colloquium on Mixed jurisdictions (14-15 May 2009,

Stellenbosch University).*

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2008 International Association of Law Schools Conference on Effective

Teaching Techniques about Other Cultures and Legal Systems, 30 May 2008,

Montreal.*

2007 International Association of Law Schools Conference on Learning from

Each Other: Enriching the Law School Curriculum in an Interrelated World,

Soochow University Kenneth Wang School of Law, Suzhou, China, 17-19

October 2007.*

2007 Law, Dignity and Transformative Constitutionalism Conference

University of Cape Town, July 2007.*

2007 Keynote Address, ‘The Role of the Judiciary in a Democracy’ at the

1st Public Forum on the Ideal Judiciary in Zambia Organised by the Zambia

Association of Women Judges and Professional Magistrates Mulungushi

International Conference Centre, Lusaka Zambia, 20 July 2007.*

2007 United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

and the University of Namibia Expert Meeting on Human Rights and

Traditional and Informal Justice Systems in Africa: Fair Trial and Equality

Before the Law, Windhoek, Namibia, 20-22 June 2007.*

The Response of State Law to the Expression of Cultural Diversity (Francqui

Foundation) Colloquium 27 September – 1 October 2006, Brussels.*

2006 Law, Language and Politics in South Africa: The Impact of the

Constitution the Second Leg of the Gwendolen M Carter Conference

University of Cape Town, June 29-July 1 2006.*

2005 The 4th World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights 20-23

March 2005, Cape Town.*

The African Commission on Human and People’ Rights and INTERIGHTS

Conference on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights under the African

Charter, Pretoria, 13-17 September 2004.*

2004 The Association of American Law Schools Conference on Educating

Lawyers for Translational Challenges 26-29 May 2004, Hawaii.*

Workshop on the Planning and Establishment of a Regional Masters in

Women’s Law (15-16 April 2003, University of Zimbabwe)

2003 Equality and Family Law Processes Conference (3-4 April 2003, Cape

Town).

2001 South African Law Commission Workshop on the Customary Law of

Succession (2 October 2001, Cape Town).

2001 HERS - SA Workshop on Understanding Your Institution: The

Complexity of Providing Higher Education (26-27 September 2001, Cape

Town).

2001 World Congress on Family Law and the Rights of the Child:

International Co-operation for the Protection of Children in the New

Millennium (19-22 September 2001, Bath, England).*

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2001 Customary Law of Succession Workshop, Centre for Applied Legal

Studies, University of Witwatersrand (28 August 2001, Johannesburg).*

2001 Cohabitation relationships Workshop, Centre for Applied Legal

Studies, University of Witwatersrand (20 July 2001, Johannesburg).

2000 Family Courts in South Africa Conference (15-16 November, 2000,

Cape Town).

2000 The Role of Lower Courts in the Enforcement of Human Rights and

the Administration of Justice in the Lower Courts in Malawi and Zambia

Workshop, 19-24 June 2000, Lusaka.*

Miller Mdt du Toit Inc. Conference on the Trend from Parental Rights to

Parental Responsibilities and Children's Rights (13-14 April 2000, Cape

Town).

2000 The Role of the Lower Courts in the Enforcement of Human Rights

and the Administration of Justice in the Lower Courts in Malawi and Zambia

Workshop, 28 March - 2 April 2000, Blantyre.*

1999 National Conference on Orphans in Zambia (organised by the United

Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) (December 1999, Lusaka).

1999 Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project Workshop (May

1999, Swaziland).

1998 Children and Law in Eastern and Southern Africa Workshop (July

1998, Harare).

1998 Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project Workshop (May

1998, Gaborone).

1997 Customary Law and Gender Symposium, Commission on Gender

Equality (3-4 November 1997).*

1997 University of the Witwatersrand Centre for Applied Legal Studies

Workshop on Strategy on Customary Law and the Constitution (16 July 1997,

Johannesburg).*

1997 Sonderforsschungsbereich 214 Identitat in Africa Abschluskolloquium,

(8-10 May 1997, University of Bayreuth Germany).

1997 Women, Language and Law in Africa Workshop (4-6 April 1997,

Indiana University, Bloomington).*

1997 FAMSA Conference on Growing Through Divorce: Before, During

and After (30 April 1997, Cape Town)*.

1997 Conference on Cultural Transformation in Africa Legal, Religious and

Human Rights Issues, 11-13 March 1997, University of Cape Town)*

1996 Gender Research Project Workshop on the Harmonisation of the

Customary and Civil Law of Marriage (25 October 1996 University of the

Witwatersrand Johannesburg).*

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1996 Community Law Centre (UWC) & Portfolio Committee on Welfare

and Population Development conference on the Child Welfare Act 26-28

September 1996, Cape Town).*

1996 Children and Law in Eastern and Southern Africa (CLESA) workshop

on Children's Rights (8-12 July 1996, Harare, Zimbabwe).

Community Law Centre (UWC) & Friedrich Ebert Stiftung conference on the

Role of Law in Transition: Dealing With The Past Through Law in South

Africa and Germany (30 June-1 July, 1995, Cape Town).

1995 Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Trust Workshop on

Children's Rights (30 January -3 February 1995, Harare, Zimbabwe).

1993 International Women's Rights Action Watch Conference on Women,

Family Law and Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (13-15 January

1993, Vienna, Austria).*

1992 Annual Colloquium of the Sonderforschungs Bereich 214 on Gender

and Identity in Africa (9-12 July, 1992, Bayreuth, Germany). *

1992 Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project Workshop on

Gender Analysis (10-21 February 1992, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe).

1991 Women's Leadership workshop (18-23 January 1991, Vienna,

Austria).*

1990 9th Commonwealth Law Conference (16-20 April 1990, Auckland,

New Zealand).*

1990 Continuing Legal Education in the Commonwealth Workshop (12-15

April 1990, Auckland, New Zealand).

1990 Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Methodology Workshop

(12-16 March 1990, Harare, Zimbabwe).*

1989 Annual Conference of the Association of African Law (10-12

November 1989, Heidelberg, Germany).*

1988 Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project Workshop (21-

26 August 1988, Harare, Zimbabwe).

1987 Law and National Identity in Africa Symposium (9-10 July, 1987,

Bayreuth, Germany).

1987 Social Change and Legal Reform in Africa Conference (13-16 January,

1987 Harare, Zimbabwe).*

MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL BODIES (PAST AND PRESENT)

International Society on Family Law

Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism Board

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o Member (1999 to date).

o Board member (1999-2015, renewed 2016 to date)

UNIVERSITY AND FACULTY ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION

I have served on the following Committees of the Law Faculty and Senate of the

University of Cape Town:

1. University

Student Fund for Visiting Speakers Committee

Member of the University Academic Planning Task Team (to draw up

guidelines for Academic Planning)

Senate Academic Planning Committee (Senate member)

Naming of Buildings and Works of Art Committees (senate member)

Library Committee (senate member)

Graduate Studies Board (as Deputy Dean, Postgraduate)

2. Faculty

Law Faculty Board

LLB Admissions Committee

Examinations Committee

Academic Planning Committee (Chair as Deputy Dean Undergaduate)

Library Committee

Scholarship Committee

The School for Advanced Legal Studies

Higher Degrees Committee

Faculty Fiance Committee

Dean’s Advisory Committee

Faculty Research Committee

I have served on numerous staff appointment committees in the Faculty

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CONTACT DETAILS

University of Cape Town

Faculty of Law

Department of Private Law

1 Stanley Road Rondebosch

Private Bag Rondebosch 7701

Tel 021 650 2186

Email: chuma.himonga@.uct.ac.za

REFEREES

Professor Helen Scott

Univerity of Cape Town

Facutly of Law

Deaprtment of Private Law

021 650 5609

Professor Evance Kalula

Director of International Academic Programmes Office (IAPO)

Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701

Level 3, Masingene Building, Cross Campus Road, Rondebosch

Tel: +27 (0021 650 3805

evance.kalula@uct.ac.za